Got ethics?

To the editor:

Next Tuesday night, Jan. 17, the Mat-Su Borough Board of Ethics delivers its latest ethics code edits to the Mat-Su Borough Assembly. But does the board response contain what the assembly or the public asked for, or what the borough really needs?

The assembly's convoluted discussions, the mayor's final motion, the meeting minutes and the documented direction to the board do not appear to agree.

The upshot is that after nearly a year with the assembly, there seems little difference in the borough's incomplete and archaic ethics code, except perhaps it is less effective than ever.

The expanding Mat-Su Borough needs and deserves its own meaningful 21st century code of ethics, and there is no reason we can't have it. Taxpayer dollars should serve the best interests of the borough, as should public officials. Assembly representatives should uphold federal and state laws and borough code, and should take their oaths of office seriously.

We should all know our local government responsibilities and benefits. A code of ethics with provisions such as these protects and supports residents and government working together for the good of the borough. Borough residents working with the Board of Ethics can produce such a code; in fact, a first draft already exists.

Please attend the Tuesday night meeting in the borough assembly chambers to demonstrate to the assembly our conviction that the ethics code is not finished. It is not acceptable to unlawfully challenge state statute, or flaunt borough code or assembly policies. We are not open for business that serves itself and politicians before residents. We can disagree respectfully, and we can find mutually acceptable solutions to issues that currently divide us. The work of the public must and can be done for the public in the public's view. A strong code of ethics is the foundation for all of this.

Come early for your "got ethics?" pin, and wear it with pride. Wherever we wander, when we come home we're all Valley neighbors after all. Starting with a strong code of ethics, we can work together to recover our sense of community. See you Tuesday. Pass it on.

Patty Rosnel

S. Knik River, Palmer